IBT Staff Reporter

Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.2 percent on Wednesday, buoyed by blue-chip stocks such as Canon Inc and carmakers after brokerage upgrades, while upbeat results from big U.S. retailers helped investor confidence.

The Australian Dollar opens higher today against the greenback at 0.8260.

Conservative political columnist Robert Novak died at 78 after a year-long battle with brain cancer. His wife of 47 years, Geraldine Novak, told The Associated Press that he died at his home in Washington, D.C. early Tuesday.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Tuesday it hired banking veteran Brad Cameron to head its Canadian mergers and acquisitions team, the latest sign a capital markets pick-up may be in the making in Canada.

North Korea said on Wednesday leader Kim Jong-il had sent condolences on the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the latest sign of a possible easing in the chill between the rival Koreas.

The University of Pittsburgh says Tuesday it won't accept George Sodini's estate gift.

Hewlett-Packard Co reported slightly better-than-expected third-quarter results on Tuesday, helped by strong server sales, but the company expressed caution about business demand, and shares fell 2 percent in extended trading.

Bing Creeping Up; Hedge Funds Soar; AIG's New Direction

China could still increase its holdings of US Treasuries if the dollar is stable, even though the long-term trajectory is to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, according to a former central bank governor.

General Motor is to wrap up its Hummer deal with China's Tengzhong at the end of September, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Monday.

MTV Games, a unit of media giant Viacom Inc. unveiled Tuesday, the list of the songs included in

Hedge funds are having their best year since 1998, yet most fund managers still are well below their peaks before the market's meltdown last year, industry analysts said.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will honor the Monty Python comedy team with a special award for their contribution to film and television at an event in New York on October 15.

Apple was the only one of the top-tier PC manufacturers whose customer satisfaction went down in the second quarter of 2009, yet still managed to secure the highest overall satisfaction among customers.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc has replaced its chief executive, Harry Sloan, with a team that includes a turnaround expert and its production boss, Mary Parent, as the storied Hollywood studio grapples with reducing a massive debt load.

Robert Benmosche, the newly appointed chief executive of AIG , has started to cut up the insurer's restructuring plan, deciding it is better to hold on to an investment advisory unit that is part of the insurer's retirement services group.

When filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was looking for a German actress to play a 1940s German screen siren-turned-spy in his movie

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton will not have to pay $8.3 million in damages claimed by the receiver for a defunct entertainment firm who said she failed to promote a movie flop called

The Australian Dollar opens higher today against the greenback at 0.8260. During local trade yesterday the Aussie moved half a US cent higher towards 0.8250 after the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's August board meeting underlined once more the market's expectations of an interest rate rise by the end of the year. Also delaying another test lower for the currency was a stronger-than-expected performance on local equities which finished the day only slightly lower after a poor lead fro...

Consumers and companies are vulnerable to hackers and identity thieves even after U.S. authorities arrested a man they said was a master hacker who stole 170 million credit and debit card numbers.

No. 1 home improvement chain Home Depot Inc is banking on a slow-but-steady growth strategy and cost cuts to fight lackluster demand for big-ticket remodeling projects.

Only three Manhattan office buildings worth more than $30 million were sold in the first half of year, as buyer and sellers failed to agree on pricing and credit stayed tight, according to a report by real estate services company CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

Ground-breaking for new U.S. single-family homes rose for a fifth straight month in July and producer prices tumbled, keeping hopes for an economic recovery alive.

Centuries have passed of speculations on what killed famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 35 and a study from the University of Amsterdam suggests today that Mozart died from a throat infection.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refrained from initiating new housing projects in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, hoping to reach common ground with Washington, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Maria Belen Chapur had the same effect on South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford, as alcohol or pornography has on addicts, the first lady Jenny Sanford said in an interview published Mondayby Vogue magazine.

European Commission officials said Tuesday that Apple Inc. is looking into reports of exploding iPhones and iPods, after several dissatisfied customers claimed that their devices had exploded.

Pakistan's security forces have arrested top Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar in the northwest tribal district of Mohmand, military officials said Tuesday.

The doctor who was at the side of Michael Jackson when he died in June and has become the center of the star's death investigation has released a video message thanking supporters for their encouraging messages.